Do You Need A Jewelry Appraiser If You're Managing An Estate?

Managing a loved one's estate can be an emotionally trying time, but it's also a complex process that often involves many surprising legal and financial hurdles. While small estates may be relatively easy to handle on your own, larger estates can be challenging. Dealing with large amounts of property often means attempting to judge the value of a wide range of different items.

For estates with jewelry, this process may be especially challenging. Unless you're already familiar with the ins and outs of the jewelry market, it may be hard even to separate valuable items from far less valuable fashion or costume jewelry. Before attempting to go it alone, check out these three indications that you may want to hire a jewelry appraiser before conducting an estate sale.

1. There's a Large Amount of Jewelry

The simplest reason to hire an appraiser is the volume of jewelry present in the estate. Many people collect jewelry, and if your loved one had a lifetime of treasured items, it might be challenging to go through and examine the jewelry yourself. Attempting to judge the value of this jewelry may be even more difficult if you also have large amounts of other property to investigate.

What qualifies as a large amount of jewelry? There's no simple answer, but you'll want to consider your familiarity with jewelry values and how long you expect it to take you to sort through all the items. If it seems like you'll need more than a few hours just to come up with some preliminary answers about the value of the jewelry, you may want to consider hiring a professional.

2. You Don't Know the Jewelry's Origin

Appraisers determine value in a few ways, but the simplest method considers the value of the metal and the gemstones combined. While this might seem straightforward, it often requires a substantial amount of skill, knowledge, and experience, especially when considering the value of a gemstone. However, appraising jewelry can be even more complicated.

If you're unfamiliar with the origin of one or more jewelry pieces, you may be dealing with antiques or other specialized jewelry that can have value above and beyond its base price. Unless you're an expert, determining the value of these items is nearly impossible. In any situation where you don't know the age or origin of jewelry, it's always best to use a professional appraiser.

3. There Are Many Estate Liabilities

Unfortunately, loved ones don't always only leave behind assets. Many estates have liabilities and debts they must pay off, which can limit what remains for heirs. Often, the primary goal of an estate sale is to raise money to pay off these creditors. If you're holding an estate sale in part to deal with these liabilities, you want to ensure you get the maximum value for the items you're selling.

Working with a professional jewelry appraiser is a good way to raise this extra money. While you'll need to spend a little upfront for their fees, knowing the value of your loved one's items will ensure that you don't accept less than their worth.

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